what is this doing in my house monday? Late edition...

I haven't played my own game in weeks and for that I apologize, the idea is to pick something really strange in your house that you can't or won't get rid of but can't figure out why you keep...(thanks denise and em for continuing the fun ;))...but, this deserves my attention even though it's technically in my truck and most likely won't ever actually come in my house.....

what I'll eventually get to was in a box of books I bought for a $1 at the auction Saturday....

bear with me ;)

First...the backstory....here's a suprise - growing up in the deep South....I had a pretty religious upbringing...I was born and raised Southern Baptist...until we migrated to the Assemblies of God when I was a teenager....my family was very, very, very serious about this stuff....fundamental, strict, King James kinda Bible thumpers...(said with all due respect)

For wholesome Christian entertainment, we loved nothing better than a good revival or traveling preacher or gospel music act when they came to town....so imagine the delite and excitement of my family and peers when Jim and Tammy Faye burst onto the scene in the 70's with the PTL Club....it was outstanding...

oh my they had it all...and it was right down the road....we attended many shows while they were still in their first, dingy downtown Charlotte studio...once the park opened it was really on...we camped there, hung out with like minded folks...there was so much to do....I even had a Bible with Jim and Tammy's autograph (along with a bunch of other notable evangelists of the day)....my family continued to visit there well past the time I turned 18 and didn't have to do the church thing anymore...

the last time I was there was on the way to see Patti Labelle at Carowinds in the mid 80's (an amusement park really close to the PTL Park)...I was with a couple of friends, we'd had some cocktails and well... thought it would be funny...I don't remember if it was or not - that was a long time ago...

so when I saw this I had to laugh...I just wish I could find the album cover with headshot of Tammy Faye on the front looking really suprised...maybe I should start collecting PTL memorabilia?

Teamwork

Teamwork
Originally uploaded by DSP (Digital Soft Paw).

how great is this? check out more of DSP's pictures, they're excellent!

so we've been looking for a place

and this is much better than the windmill/telephone booth place...already decorated and everything....kinda funky right? the empty 40's and crack vials are just extra character...

destination unknown

unfortunately....mine is known and involves a buffet...but I wish it were one of those days we could just get in the car and drive with no purpose

Stuff Portrait Friday

I'm running way late this morning....a headache and a greasy egg and cheese sandwich from Sonic took precedence..... interesting topics this week from Kristine...sorta different...sorta odd ;)

Something Mean Looking:

I took this in Cherokee when we were there for J's birthday in May....all clowns (IMO) are mean looking and potentially dangerous....please note also, it's a government vehicle making it all the more scarey



My Hiding Place:

Yep, I love to hide in the pencil box(es) and sketch book(s)....photoshop and flickr are also awesome places to hide!



My Weapons:

hmmm....this was the toughest...but I think if I have a weapon...it's humor..laughing is always better than the alternative and making a joke is definately a way to protect and defend...a few sketches were the best way I could come up with to illustrate this one



so who played? who wants to? who's excited Blogher starts today and live conference blogging will begin shortly?

while I'm on the subject of Freaks

our monthly family birthday get together is this weekend...I'm not actually sure when b/c I didn't call my dad back until yesterday and he initially called 2 weeks ago and now he's not calling me back..LOL...we're so loving

anyway...my family is big....my blended stepfamily is even bigger...this month the only birthday is my stepmothers and evidently a buffet restaurant has been chosen for the celebration location in order to save her from cooking for the masses....the exciting part (for them) is that it's a new buffet....my people LOVE buffets...they are all indiscrimate eaters to say the very least....it's all about quantity

I think one of the goals of my dad and stepmother is to hit every BBQ buffet on the east coast before they die...they're pretty close (to the buffet thing not death....even though I'm pretty sure one may affect the other)....

personally, I HATE buffets...I especially HATE BBQ buffets because I don't eat meat...and not only do they usually have a multitude of meat cooked in various ways...most of the vegetables are cooked in meat juice or with bits of meat and I won't eat those either....

and truthfully, just seeing all that food with strangers breathing on it and touching it....grosses me the hell out...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this gathering is scheduled for Saturday since I have an auction and will be unable to attend due to work...

Illustration Friday - Opposites

it just so happens that this week's IF title sorta coincided with some ideas I'm toying around with for the State Fair this year...not sure which categories I might enter but I've always wanted to do something along the lines of a sideshow sign or carnival poster....you know the type...alligator boy, lobster girl, human marvels....big bold colors and lines with lots going on in the background....I love those images and everything about carnivals and fairs and especially the Ripley's/Barnum & Bailey kind of stuff...

the golden age of the freak show was an amazing time...community at its most intense...there was a movie made in 1932 called Freaks that is very interesting....some of the best known sideshow acts of the day were the actors - the story revolved around the freaks protecting one of their own from a normal woman's murderous seduction...weird, heady stuff but worth the time to watch....many of those folks really celebrated their uniqueness....then they all retired to Gibsonton, Florida ;)

at any rate, my tongue in cheek entry for Opposites...don't be suprised to see more of this type of thing as the Fair gets closer.....:)

Crushing on Fat Star

About 5 or 6 years back...I worked a lot of nights which meant I could watch The View before I left home...I loved The View...all four women were smart, bitter to an extent about all sorts of issues, funny, well-spoken....nothing but good stuff...

during that period, I decided to make a little wooden set of the cast (remember the woman who got a plug on Rosie for making the set of her show out of candy...that's where my head was)....pre-surgery...I mean weight loss for Star...we moved, I lost interest in the show and I lost track of the set but it turned up over the weekend and here she is in all of her round glory...(please excuse Meredith's crazy eyes, I never finished the whole thing).....

I've been disturbed on and off about the weird turn Star's life has taken since the glory days pre-surgery...I mean pre-weight loss....let face it...she started getting skinny, she married Al, her conservatism starting really coming out, and now there's the whole pissing contest between her and Barbara....when will it end?

I miss fat Star and the energy she brought to The View, I miss watching a bunch of real looking women, sitting around talking and laughing over coffee....I loved her just the way she was and she isn't that way anymore...why do people think they need to fix things that aren't broken?

fooling around with the template

excuse any weirdness...I'm playing around with templates and stuff and it may look odd for the next day or so...a blogger breakup is sounding better and better

SPF - Names and Wishes

so the Man is holding Kristine's internet connection hostage for the next week or so ...but in an act of solidarity and unity...the game goes on....she will overcome...and the time space continuum will be restored to it's normal working order at some point in the near future...which leads us to....

Stuff Unnoticed

Ha...my overall science fiction geekiness goes generally unnoticed particularly by my father who is responsible for the ...especially my love of all B type movies and shows from the 60's....



Your Wish

my wish today is completely selfish.....I wish that after the 3rd trip from the AC repair guys this week, our house will be this cool....



The Stuff Under Your Sink

All you neat freaks just relax ;)...it's controlled chaos...we know where everything is and this is the only storage space we have in the kitchen for cookware...



so, who played? jump on in, take some pictures, you know you want to...

and thanks to Lazy Lightening for hosting this week :)

mental health day

tomorrow I am taking a day off...alone...all by myself...

of course I will have to deal with the repair guys who for some reason have been unable to fix our AC after 2 TRIPS this week and there's the tremendous car repair bill that will be waiting for us in the afternoon.....but WTF? I'll have a few precious hours of quiet time to do whatever I want....

like G-Boo says....lifted with respect from Marginal Notes....go check 'em out

waking up to...

Marshall Tucker's Can't You See...is the best song I've found so far to wake up to...something about the flute intro that just makes 4:15 bearable...(to be fair, that's when J gets up, I usually stay in bed until 5:15 when she leaves)....

what noises/songs do y'all wake up to?....I'm not a morning person so this is an extremely important issue in our household....some of our failed attempts include: Black Sabbath, Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead (of course), the Judds, Ella Fitzgerald, Melissa Etheridge, and on and on and on.....southern rock soothes my soul I guess ;)

I'm gonna take a freight train down at the station, Lord
I don't care where it goes
Gonna climb a mountain, the highest mountain, Lord
And jump off, ain’t nobody gonna know
Can't you see, can't you see,
What that woman, Lord
She been doin' to me
Can't you see, oh, can't you see
What that woman, been doin' to me

I'm gonna find me a hole in the wall,
I’m gonna crawl inside and die
’Cause my lady now, a mean old woman, Lord
Never told me goodbye
Can't you see, oh, can't you see,
What that woman, lord, she been doin' to me
Can't you see, can't you see,
What that woman,lord, she been doin' to me

gonna buy me a ticket now, as far as I can,
I ain't never comin' back
I’m gonna take me that south-bound,
All the way to Georgia now,
‘Till the train it run out of track
Can't you see, oh, can't you see,
What that woman, lord, she been doin' to me
Can't you see, can't you see,
What that woman, she been doin' to me, oh lord

Copyright Spirit One Music (BMI)

anger...angry...angered...

I have anger issues...and I will briefly violate one of my blog rules for this entry to say that anger issues run in my family....I will also say that for the most part we (my brothers and I) have found ways to channel those feelings into other things so as not to spend the majority of our lives smashing things and running our blood pressure up....

but....sometimes...

it just pops out...crazed, wild-eyed, can't see straight, right up in your face....I hate that...I hate reacting badly and over the years I've really tried to limit those kinds of extremes (actually emotional extremes of all kinds, but that's another post entirely)....however, the reality of it is that occasionally I just flip out...usually over something stupid and insignificant that under normal circumstances wouldn't even register...

a couple of things have set me off recently and I am starting to realize I must get it back under control quickly (because that's what it's ultimately all about anyway)....before I turn into this...

more late night Q&A

tagged by drumsnwhistles as part of the BlogHer - BlogMe Baby mixer......it starts in 10 days you know?

1. When did you start blogging and why?

it must be about a year ago...and frankly I don't know why...denise was talking about it and it must have been around the time of last year's BlogHer, I want to say I started clicking on links and just got interested...however...I was clueless...my initial blog was on bloglines and started as a ridiculous daily tracking of Steve Spurrier articles...stupid, stupid, stupid...thankfully I was pointed in the direction of blogger and lost my fascination with my state's fascination with Spurrier and here I am now....I like to pretend the whole Spurrier thing never happened....

at some point early on though, I discovered art bloggers and just fell in love.....

2. What don’t you write about? Anything considered a no-no in your book?

there are lots of no-no's for me...if it's not here it's most likely a no-no...read: most family stuff and all work stuff...it's too small a world and there are lots of stories that aren't mine to tell....I'm not crazy talking about religion or politics either because they both just suck IMO

3. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

LOL, pretty damn close I think...much closer than the way I came across on boards all those years...blogging also helped drag a part of me out that wasn't a big enough part for too long....sort of a social integration tool for real life in my case

4. How do you use blogging to build friendships?

this has been the really amazing thing...I've met tons of cool people, doing cool things, and thinking cool stuff in the last year....people that I clicked with immediately in a couple of situations and friendships have just grown...similiar interests and outlooks or a genuine respect for them personally...I really appreciate the people I've gotten to know...

it's also given me a chance to know some folks better and I can't believe it took so long...

5. How would you describe your writing style?

mostly goofy? background chatter? full of misplaced commas and apostrophes?...giving it a label makes it sound like I might actually have one....

and as a bonus (well not exactly if you read this)...a picture I really like of me...and Scout...sorry, if you've seen it, but I think it's a good capture...just cruising along, trying to enjoy the scenery

There are lots of people I'd like to see do this.....patti, em, vanda, honeysuckle, kristine, RSG, haginajag, suzanne, cameradawktor...but jump in regardless, listening is fun

Illustration Friday - Sacrifice

been awhile since I actually got an Illustration Friday post done...and since it's the first for a month or so...let's start with a stretch...:)

Sacrifice brings too many Old Testament Bible stories to mind so I went with her...I'm in no mood to dwell on the OT anyway...

Beauty is a sacrifice...especially in the heat...I think she's got the Fever....

btw...this is also a return to the watercolor pencils I love so much and haven't even unzipped from their bag for months...they've been lonely

uh oh...Peggy Lee's on the cd player...

could be a strange night ahead...

"Fever"

Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night.

Sun lights up the daytime, moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name, and you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever - when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight
Fever - in the the morning, fever all through the night.
Everybody's got the fever, that is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago.

Romeo loved Juliet, Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her, he said "Julie baby you're my flame"
Thou givest fever, when we kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth
Fever - I'm afire, fever yea I burn forsooth.

Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair
When her Daddy tried to kill him, she said "Daddy-O don't you dare"
Give me fever - with his kisses, fever when he holds me tight
Fever - I'm his Missus, Oh daddy won't you treat him right.

Now you've listened to my story, here's the point I have made:
Chicks were born to give you fever, be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever - when you kiss them, fever if you live and learn
Fever - till you sizzle, what a lovely way to burn.
What a lovely way to burn.
What a lovely way to burn.

ahh...a day at the spa....

because that's what it freaking feels like outside...no storms or rain currently happening...we got 'em yesterday and it only made the steaminess intensify...why is it I enjoy living here?

SPF - Feet...piggies...etc

Feet....here you go...everyone's in our house but J's, because I'm sure she would throttle me if I put pictures of her feet on the internet and I don't want to set a bad tone for the weekend ;)

can you tell which ones are mine?...who showed theirs?

Dressing a Pig

yesterday I endured a lunch time conversation about how to dress a pig....now before you city folks get all excited about how cute that sounds....stop....it isn't cute...it's actually pretty gross - especially to a non-pork eating, pig lover like myself...let's just say ALL parts of a pig are ultimately usable...

and since the newly wed Kristine has requested pictures of our piggies for tomorrow's SPF....I will spare everyone pictures of what really dressing a pig is about and instead give you these....

A Pug dressed as a Pig
A well accessorized Pig

and since I'm on pigs...check out the United Pet Pig Registry website....just in case anyone else thinks they would be a cool pet, there's lots of good info for potential pig owners....and look at their calendar, they could be coming to a State Fair near you later this year....

Wednesday Kitten Blogging

I think I've mentioned the multi-generational family of feral cats that lives among ours and several neighbors houses...it all started with Mama Kitty about 3 years ago...she's been fixed but not after having many litters of kittens...the last litter Mama had was late last summer (I think) and right after someone was able to catch her and one of the female babies to get them spayed.....

As great as that it was....there are still 2 unspayed females and a non-neutered male hanging around....well that's where Wednesday Kitten Blogging comes in...the 2 girls had babies a few months back...we're sure that a couple of the kittens didn't make it and the ones that did have been hard to catch a peek of (unless they're hiding in one of our engines)....

this morning as I was coming out of the house, I noticed the 2 that we're starting to see on a regular basis....a cow kitty and a black kitty....I snapped a picture, walked around to get in the truck and much to my suprise...hiding under the truck....there's a 3rd kitten from that pack....another black one, so we've most likely been seeing them both and thought it was only one.....

so, much to my dismay...we are feeding 8 outside cats now....I'm afraid we're starting to become crazy cat ladies....

the best President our country

will never have and this picture makes me love her more...not because of the guns, they're not my thing...but because of the tremendous pair this cute little old lady packs....and who better to capture that spirit than Annie Leibovitz?...this is my favorite favorite picture in a long time...maybe her daughter will decide to throw her hat into the ring...it's not fair that Ann will never run....

Late Nite Quiz

Tagged by Cheeky my SC friend temporarily relocated to the wilds of Minne-Freaking-Sota ;)...hope you're enjoying the heat in the holy city this week!

1. The book nearest me - Dictionary, Haynes Repair Manual for Mazda B2200 trucks, Mountain Biking in SC

2. Stretch out left arm what do you touch? - blinds on the window

3. Last thing watched on television? - a second of Larry King before I came in here

4. Without looking what time is it? - 10:00 ish

5. What actual time is it? - 10:09

6. With the exception of the computer what can you hear? - ceiling fan

7. When did you last step outside? - about 10 minutes ago...I had a work panic thing about 7:30 , that ultimately wound up meaning a trip back to the office to correct a potential huge mistake...done with 2.5 hours to go before the actual deadline....I'm a little keyed up

8. Before this survey what did you look at? - flickr

9. What are you wearing? - yellow coke t-shirt, robot shorts and flip flops

10. Did you dream last night? - I think about my old HR manager

11. When did you last laugh? - a little while ago with the co-worker who met me at the office over my OCD tendencies

12. What is on the walls in the room? - an MC Escher calendar

13. Seen anything weird lately? - weirdness follows me - or the other way around...I see it everywhere...it's a big old goofy world

14. What do you think of this quiz? - quizzes make me nervous

15. What is the last film you saw? - Saving Face cute cute movie...


16. Tell me something we don't know - I played handbells in the elementary school church choir

17. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do? - make toilet paper, tampons, pads, condoms, toothpaste, soap and laundry detergent free for life for everyone

18. Do you like to dance? - no....no

19. George Bush? - the Dixie Chicks are my heroes

20. Imagine your first child is a girl - what was I thinking?

21. Imagine your first child is a boy - what was I thinking?

22. Would you consider living abroad? - is that like out of SC?

23. What would God say to you when you reach the pearly gates? - sarcasm is the lowest form of humor...keep it to yourself and try to stay out of trouble up here, those wings are not toys

Feel free to steal this and post away at your own place...just let me know so I can look...I'm hopelessly behind with posts, SPF, Illustration Friday, and most everything internet related...maybe I can start to catch up this week....

Stuff Portrait Friday - Wedding!!!!

Kristine and Shaun get married tomorrow...how cool is that?....so a wedding themed SPF on the eve of their nuptials....and maybe even a little sappy too

1. Your Love....easy one, especially since we celebrated 16 years together this week....amazing how that many years can seem like days....best wishes for many happy years together Kristine and Shaun!!!!!

2. Honeymoon - I know it might be a little bit of a hike for y'all, but Cherokee, NC would be an excellent honeymoon spot....lots of stuff for the kids to do, a big park with a river in the middle of town....but please stay at the Pink Motel, cause it's got the best neon sign EVER!...oh, and Kristine, don't get into trouble at the casino ;)

3. Something Blue....only blue skies for the new couple...or at least the hope that you can always hang onto the promise of blue skies if you wait the storms out....

Good luck to you both tomorrow, I'm sure it will be wonderful!

Who played?...I may be slow getting around today because real life promises to be a little crazy today, but I'll get there :)

something wicked this way comes...

this was part of the house we looked at tonite...honest to god, this was one of the weirdest houses I've ever seen...not only was there a windmill with an antique water pump attached to the base, there was a train switch mailbox post, an old gas pump, a big rusty gas station sign, a boat, a swing made from what looks like a tram car, oh....a car seat (not the kid kind, the car seat kind), a shed filled with shutters, a much bigger shed with no entrance, six sets of sliding patio doors and no patio - three of which are the second floor where there is no deck...

that's just the outside, we didn't get to go inside but we know it almost 1700 square feet not including the finished garage...there's an upstairs which is supposedly just a big room (maybe 400 square feet by itself)...it's one of those houses that somebody just kept building on until they couldn't anymore...weird additions everywhere from whatever happened to be around to build with...

oh and did I mention it's on the river? no, really...on the river, there's a path from the backyard down the bank to the water, there's even a light and a little dock (didn't go all the way down though, cause it was snakey looking)....

we have to see inside this house, I'm calling in the morning...I have a feeling the inside could be worse than the outside (there's some work to do ;))...and I need to know what's in the doorless shed...does this sound like the best place to have a Halloween party or what?

trash and dirty laundry....

for a household of 2, we generate a great deal of both....how is that? does a family of 4 generate twice what we do?...and good grief, how did my crazy, non-functioning mother ever keep up with 6?...I just want to understand...

and if we get a dishwasher will the number of dishes we use increase?...and if we had one of those super tremendous whirlpool washing machines would we just get more clothes dirty cause we could?...and why is our city picking up trash today when it's a holiday? now I will have a double pile on the street come Friday...

damn. it. all.

WHAT IS THIS DOING IN MY HOUSE MONDAY?????

We're off today and got up early to do some stuff so I'm running a tad late...one of the things we did was look at houses - more about that in a minute...so in a way, I can be excused cause this game is all the more important in the face of an inevitable move....

we painted a mural for an elementary school a few years back, to keep costs low we bought all but a gallon of primer and a gallon of green from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store....we bought a lot, okay I bought a lot J was at work...but it was really cheap and I didn't know how much paint we'd need since we'd never done it before and it was a big wall...and it was really cheap....

mural done...lots and lots of paint left over....really lots...and you just can't throw paint out either and I'm respectful of those sorts of regulations being a tree hugger and all...so here you go...lots of weirdly colored leftover paints that I have to see if the thrift store will take back...please take special note of the full gallon of safety yellow on the floor, my proudest find at the thrift store...the color we have the most of still



as for the house looking - we saw maybe 6...the first one we looked at we really liked...we've got a call into the guy and will hopefully hear from him this afternoon to look inside....it doesn't have a front side...it's built longways on the lot in fact...there's this cool arch you walk through onto a covered concrete deck (perfect for gathering and grilling....the kitchen looked huge, there was one of those fancy modern things called a DISHWASHER that we've heard so much about, there were storm windows and a huge air handler out back....the yard has a lot of potential too, it's layed out weird with the way the fence is set...the bedrooms did look really small and there's carpet throughout but who knows? maybe there will be more to tell soon...

anyway...if you're still reading and feel inclined to post something that you just can't figure out why it's in your possession....let me know, we can all support each other through the letting go process ;)

FIREWORKS SAFETY

Before things get out of hand at the lake...let's review

To help you celebrate safely this Fourth of July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Council on Fireworks Safety offer the following safety tips:

* Always read and follow label directions.
* Have an adult present.
* Buy from reliable sellers.
* Use outdoors only.
* Always have water handy (a garden hose and a bucket).
* Never experiment or make your own fireworks.
* Light only one firework at a time.
* Never re-light a "dud" firework (wait 15 to 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water).
* Never give fireworks to small children.
* If necessary, store fireworks in a cool, dry place.
* Dispose of fireworks properly by soaking them in water and then disposing of them in your trashcan.
* Never throw or point fireworks at other people.
* Never carry fireworks in your pocket.
* Never shoot fireworks in metal or glass containers.
* The shooter should always wear eye protection and never have any part of the body over the firework.
* Stay away from illegal explosives.

the lake house

summer holidays are a good time to romanticize family memories...the heat, bugs, and indignity of shopping for suitable bathing suits have faded and you're only left with the hazy images of watermelon and hot dogs...

for me, one such source of those types of warm, fuzzies is my grandparents lake house...I mentioned it to Hag in a Jag recently and remembered I had a picture of it that I inherited when my grandparents died...and since here in the states we're getting ready to celebrate the summer holiday....I thought I'd invite everybody over...the bigger the crowd the better

in the storage room under the house, there's a pile of mismatched water ski's and lifejackets, a few cane poles and rod and reels, I'm sure somebody will start the boat up sooner or later...or you can just rest and enjoy the breeze on one of the swings, Aunt Sally might come over so be prepared to talk about tomatoes and fishin', she's a dear old thing....

speaking of fishing, it's better off our dock or at the end of the Rabon's where the water's deeper, but be forewarned you have to clean what you catch....be careful diving cause there's old christmas trees right off the edge of the platform...there's plenty of snakes too so don't be suprised if one pops up....btw, you can get minnows and worms at the bait shop right before you turn off onto the dirt road...

I think Papa picked up some old inner tubes from the warehouse last week, maybe he'll blow them up and once the show-offs are done skiing we can convince them to pull us around for a while...

there's plenty of places to look around if you get antsy....down to the right a few blocks or so, there's an old abandoned farm house with a swing in the tree in the front yard that's a nice place to stop...back to the left is the cove....just wave, they're all friendly...

the watermelon somebody threw in the water this morning should be just about chilled by now....I think I heard the ice cream machine earlier too....I imagine the boys will shoot fireworks into the water later and get fussed at for the mess on the dock after it's all said and done....

so if you're in the neighborhood or feel like spending the day by the lake - join me and my perfect imaginary family for a wonderful afternoon...it'll be fun :)